


Fabric

by QueenIX



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/F, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 23:03:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3746842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenIX/pseuds/QueenIX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"For all intents and purposes, he could have been just as attracted to a washboard stomach..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fabric

For Colonel Kira Nerys, it had been a rough day. Nothing serious had occurred on the station during her time in command, but it had been one of those days where it was one minor emergency after another, and to Kira, it felt like she had spent the entire day running around with a fire suppression unit in her hand. By the end of her overextended shift, Kira was exhausted. She was beat, done, fried, but too wound up to go home just yet, so she decided on a stop at Quark’s first. A glass of wine, or even two, was definitely in order, and Quark had real springwine behind his bar, set aside just for her, just for days like this.

Odo had met her on the Promenade, his shift also done. Odo wasn’t so thrilled with the idea of Quark’s. He had hoped to go to Kira’s quarters where they could be alone, whispering in her ear all the things he wanted to do with her when they got there. Kira smiled, kissed his neck, and told him everything on his list was okay by her, but she wasn’t in the mood at the moment. She explained her day, her current tension. Odo reluctantly, but wisely, agreed on a stop at Quark’s first. A little wine, after all, might help Kira change her mind.

They found a small table against a far wall that gave them a direct view of the bar. Kira ordered her drink, and after about half a glass, felt her body begin to wind down. She stayed tucked under Odo’s arm as she slowly finished her wine, perfectly content there, reconsidering his earlier suggestions, but was still too tense to fully appreciate them. Another round was definitely in order, so she signaled the waiter. As she sipped her second glass of wine, she let the buzz of the crowded bar drone out her thoughts, mingling with the buzz of the alcohol, and finally felt herself begin to let the day go.

There wasn’t much talking between them. Kira had talked enough this day, and one of the biggest blessings of being with Odo was that she really didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to. Not that she and Odo didn’t do plenty of talking. They even had the habit of talking during sex, something that used to drive Shakaar nuts about Kira, but that Odo readily accepted. There were times, however, where their communication was wholly non-verbal, and this was one of those times.

Odo’s hand rested on Kira’s shoulder, his thumb making slow, soft circles on the cloth of her uniform, absent little afterthought strokes that said he knew she was there, but his mind was elsewhere. The elbow of his other arm was on the table, head resting in an open palm as he idly watched the patrons of Quark’s go about their business. Odo’s blue gaze was hazed, distant, unfocused, and uninterested in what was going on, which also meant off-duty, for which Kira was grateful. If she was going to keep Odo here being bored, at least he wasn’t trying to make up for it by looking for criminal activity.

Kira took another sip of wine, thinking it was about time to let Odo off the hook and take him home, when she noticed that Odo’s thumb had stopped moving. She looked down at her shoulder, and over to Odo’s face. His expression had grown serious, his gaze intent and focused, locked on something that was apparently quite riveting at the bar. Kira followed his gaze and bit back a laugh.

Standing next to Morn, chatting, laughing, and enjoying a colorful Tahitian Sunrise, was a very lovely young woman who Kira recognized as the aid to the Kelvian ambassador to the Federation. Odo wasn't the only man in Quark's that had noticed her, but he was at least was trying to be polite about it. Odo was, after all, inherently a gentleman, but even Kira couldn't blame him for admiring the head-turner at the bar. She was truly stunning and definitely dressed to impress. If Kira didn’t know better, if she didn’t know that Odo was just looking and meant nothing else by it, she might have been jealous. But Kira did know better, and besides, she’d never been the kind of woman who was so insecure about herself that she couldn’t handle her lover admiring another woman. Look all you want, was her philosophy. As long as it was only looking and no touching, Kira could ignore an occasional wandering eye. Besides, men would be men.

But then again, Odo wasn’t really a man.

The subject had come up between Kira and Odo once, of what it was that made Odo choose to live as a male and what drove him to be attracted to women, as Odo wasn’t really either and wasn’t humanoid to boot. For all intents and purposes, Odo could’ve been just as sexually attracted to a washboard stomach as a pair of breasts. The ensuing discussion she’d had with Odo on the subject had been yet another enlightening look into her Changeling’s life.

One night in Kira's quarters, after a round of love-making, they were stretched out on her bed, both of them spent. It been an especially robust and healthy go, thoroughly satisfying, and Kira was glowing with contentment. She always was with Odo, every time, without fail. It sparked Kira to ask the question she’d never cared to ask before, as really, the answer up to that point had been, ‘Who cares?’

“Odo, how in the Seven Levels did you get so good at this?”

Odo raised a brow at her. “Am I so good at this?”

Kira raised a brow of her own. “Seriously? Yes, you are. No one else I’ve slept with comes even close, though I’ve told you so before.”

“I know,” he smiled, “but I still like hearing you say it." He folded his arms behind his head, thinking. "I suppose, to answer your question, Nerys, from books, mostly. All those romance novels you tease me about paid off. There was the Computer when I had more practical questions. And, of course, temple school.”

Well, this was something new. Kira rolled onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow. “Temple school?” she asked. “You went to temple school? You don’t worship, Odo. How did you end up in temple school?”

“It wasn’t temple school as you know it," Odo explained. "I wasn’t allowed to leave the lab. They had to bring the vedek to me. Mora convinced the Cardassians to allow it, in the interests of science. He told them it was an experiment in sentience, a proof he devised. They'd already proven I was capable of academic learning, Mora said, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see if they could teach their amorphous, unclassified lifeform to understand religion and culture?"

“Well, that’s an offensive attitude," Kira said. "For more reasons than one.”

“Dr. Mora didn’t mean it, Nerys,” Odo said. “He knew better already, but he had to be careful not to show any attachment to me in front of the Cardassians. Mora’s real reason was to make sure I could function as a member of Bajoran society, in the optimistic hope that one day the Cardassians would be gone, and we would be free. Turns out it was a good idea. Although, sometimes the things Mora said to keep his cover still stung…Anyway, the Cardassians allowed Mora’s proposal. Vedek Tonsol came two times a week, for six years, and taught me about the Bajoran religion. All the usual things, the seven high prayers, the Hierarchy, the levels of the Celestial Temple. As you can imagine, I wasn’t so good at chants, but my written ancient Bajoran was actually quite good. And of course, the vedek taught me the essential social edicts, including the text of the Seventy-Three Paths to Enlightenment.”

Well, Kira thought. That certainly explained a few things.

For Bajorans, sex was a sacred act, governed like everything else by their religion. It was something to be shared, a gift from the Prophets that was to be respected, but not to the point where the joy was taken out of it. There were no judgments about who one slept with, or how many one slept with, or how it was done, so long as it was done with love and celebrated the teachings. The text of the Seventy-Three Paths to Enlightenment was introduced to Bajorans at the age of sixteen so they could know how to honor the Prophets in all aspects of their lives. Though the text discussed matters of sexual pleasure extensively, it wasn't really about sex. It was about the paths that could be taken to achieve a state of being, a philosophical approach to enlightened living, and the many ways to share love. Kira had learned that Earth had something similar in one of its ancient cultures, called the _Kama Sutra._ But to be taught the philosophies one-on-one by a full vedek, to be able to ask questions of someone with that kind of knowledge, had been an honor and an advantage, and Kira found herself a little jealous. She was the one who worshiped, not Odo, but she had been too busy being a terrorist to finish temple school. Most of her education had been through Lupaza, whenever they had time.

At least now, though, Kira had an answer to her question.

“When it came to anything gender specific,” Odo continued, “I was taught both sides, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“In case I decided at some point to live as a female.”

That gave Kira pause. She’d never thought about it before, but Odo could just as easily have chosen to be a woman. Thank the Prophets that for her sake, he hadn’t. However, in their enlightened attitude, Bajorans made room for all types of sexuality in their culture, never judging on how love was shared. When it came to relationships or gender matters as a whole, it was one’s _d’jarra_ that had mattered above all else. One could choose any life partner as it pleased, so long as they were of the same class. Now that the _d’jarra_ system was gone, Bajorans were pretty well anything goes.

That was, so long as the other person was a fellow Bajoran. They were still having trouble with that. But that was a discussion for another time.

“Odo,” Kira asked, “why _did_ you choose to be male? You didn’t have to be.”

“Proximity,” Odo replied. “Mora is male, Mora was there. He was easy to copy from.”

“Did you ever try being a woman?”

“I did,” he replied. “Again, in the interest of science." He huffed a bitter laugh. "It amused the Cardassians to no end, to see me change sexes. You know their attitude about these things.”

Kira did. It was pretty narrow, and in some cases, hypocritical.

“Overall, I didn’t care for living as a female,” Odo said. “I couldn’t get the face any better than the one I wear now—"

“—I love your face.”

“—but the body was no problem. I was provided with a holo-image to copy. According to anyone who had the privilege to see it, I had the female form down perfectly.”

The privilege to see it, Kira thought, frowning. Odo's tone was flippant, but it bothered Kira, the dark possibilities in that phrase. Just how much time had Odo spent in that lab, forced to let others have control of his body, suffering through people inspecting it, poking and prodding, criticizing him in the 'interest of science?' The idea made her shudder and squeezed her heart. Kira decided, however, not to pry too far into those dark places. She didn’t want to interrupt Odo’s unusually open mood.

“It wasn’t _being_ female that bothered me," Odo continued. "I have no ingrained gender preference, per se. It was the _balance_ of being female, the way the body moved, the curves of it, the shift of weight on the hips. And the breasts always seemed to be in the way of everything. I couldn't get used to it all, so after Dr. Mora got his data, I went back to the way I was used to living, to being male.”

“But Odo, that doesn’t really explain…Well, I guess doesn’t matter. Never mind, I don’t want to keep bringing up your lab days. I know it’s a hard subject.”

Odo's gaze softened, and he caressed her cheek. “Nerys, you can ask me anything. It has always been your privilege. But at this point in our relationship, it's your _right_ to ask me these things.”

“Well, it’s just what you said,” Kira mused. “No gender preference. Yet you lean to the masculine in personality, and your tastes, shall we say, are most definitely conventional male. Why is that?”

“A question I’ve asked myself several times,” Odo replied. “As far as personality, it just came out that way. It’s who I am. But some have labeled you as being masculine yourself, Nerys. How quickly battle lust takes you, your aggression, your no-holds-barred way of fighting. Not necessarily traditional traits of the female. Not average ones, anyway. As far as tastes, well…I may not have liked living in the female form, but I certainly enjoy putting my hands on it.” Odo proved his point by gently teasing one of her breasts. “I _really_ love these. Men don't have these.”

“But _why_ , Odo?” Kira said, stopping his hand before she got distracted. “For humanoids, sexual attraction is usually a specific thing. Most of us are hardwired to have one preference or another, and we don’t change much, but that’s not true in your case. Why women for you, and not men, or whoever else resides around here, otherwise unclassified?”

Odo paused for a moment, thinking. He ran the back of his hand lightly over Kira's bare middle as he gathered his thoughts. “Why do you like chocolate, Nerys, or _raktijino?_ Why do you despise Klingon opera when their entire race seems to love it, and why does Andorian pottery make you sad? Why do you love the feel of the sun on your back?”

“Not the same,” she said. “That’s aesthetics, or for comfort.”

“Isn’t it the same, though? All the things around you can evoke pleasure, or its antithesis, and obviously, you avert what you don’t like. What you feel, the emotions the things you enjoy bring forth…” Odo ran a slow hand over her side, from her hip and up. “The tastes, the smells, the sounds…Textures…” He went back to teasing her breast. His gaze was intent as he watched her pebbly nipple pucker under his thumb. “It’s like when you choose to wear that little black thing of yours—"

“The Risian satin?” Kira smiled.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “The black, slippery thing with the short hem. There’s no practical purpose behind that garment, except how it makes you feel. When you look at it, you think about how it will slide over your skin, cool at first, but how it will warm to match your heat, how good that sleek fabric will feel next to your body…Being with a woman physically, the attraction to women, is like that for me. I just don’t get that same sense of anticipation from looking at a man—that 'I want that' feeling—and I couldn’t tell you why.”

“So let me get this straight,” Kira teased. She gently pushed him down on the bed and straddled his hips. “To you, women are like chocolate? Or fabric?”

“Sort of,” he winced. “It goes a little deeper than a bonbon, Nerys, but that's the closest explanation I can offer."

Kira smiled down at her lover as she mused over all he'd said. Who would have ever guessed that DS9's dour chief of security was such a sensualist?

No one, Kira decided, smiling even wider.

She also decided none of this mattered, all this 'why' she'd brought up. She loved Odo, and he loved her, and that was all Kira really needed to know.

“Odo," she purred. "Would you like me to go get that little black thing, and wear it for you?”

“Yes,” Odo replied. “Oh, yes I would.”

Kira stole a quick kiss and crawled over Odo, leaving their bed to go to her closet and retrieve the piece of lingerie in question. She found it and eased it off its hanger carefully. She shrugged it over her head, feeling it slide down her body exactly as Odo had described, landing just over her low hip. Kira smoothed her hands over the decadent fabric covering her body and smiled to herself. After this conversation, she would never look at a textile quite the same way again.

There were panties that went with the slip, but Kira didn’t bother. They would just be in her way. Still smiling, she returned to Odo. She resumed her place across Odo’s hips and leaned down to kiss him, staying there for a while, letting him feel the softness of the fabric, the warmth of her body against his chest. Odo toyed with her breasts through the slip, pinching and teasing her taut nipples through the lace cups. Kira reveled in the soft scratch against her sensitive skin, and Odo's soft kisses on her lips. She was more than ready for him, so she sat up, reaching down between them to take his erection in her hand. She slid herself down slowly over Odo's rigid length. She kept the lead as they made love again, taking her time as she rode him, rolling her hips in slow, full circles. It left Odo’s hands-free to enjoy the slide and slip of black satin and lace over Kira’s white skin.

However, as things went on, as Kira moaned and writhed above him, getting closer and closer to her peak, Odo’s mood shifted. He became uncharacteristically impatient, getting increasingly frustrated by the barrier between his hands and Kira's skin.

With a harsh growl, Odo sat up. He gripped handfuls of satin, grunting as tore the slip in half, the fabric splitting up the middle. Kira sucked in a sharp gasp of surprise at the sound it made, at the urgency in Odo's expression. Her breath pulled in short, quick pants as Odo eyes roved hungrily over her bared body. She gasped again as he snapped the straps of the slip off her shoulders and tossed the satin aside. 

Odo gathered Kira to his chest, moaning into her neck. His hands swept roughly over Kira's bare back, her sides, her breasts. His lips and teeth devoured the delicate flesh of her neck, tasted her mouth, his fingers burying tightly in her hair, but still he wasn’t satisfied. It wasn’t enough. He rolled them both to the bed and pulled away from her. He rose and caught Kira's legs, dragging her to the edge of the mattress.

 “Nerys, turn over. _Now!"_

Kira didn't argue. She rolled onto her stomach. From behind, strong hands tugged her hips up and back, and Kira rocked back on her knees. With a shuddering breath, Odo plunged deeply back inside of her, burying himself full to the hilt, and drove them both quickly to an earth-shattering finish.

That steamy, impatient, black-satin night had been months ago now. As Kira sat in Quark’s and drained the last of the wine in her glass, it wasn’t even remotely on her mind. What was on Kira’s mind now was her distracted lover. He was still staring at the Kelvian, and she found herself growing increasingly annoyed with his behavior. Kira was open-minded, but she had her limits. It was definitely time to leave.

“Odo,” Kira whispered. She was testing the waters to see if he was paying any attention to her at all. He didn’t even flinch, gaze still locked on his quarry. Kira grinned deviously. She decided she was going to have some fun with this.

“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Kira said, following Odo’s gaze.

“Hmm?...Oh...Yes, I suppose so,” Odo mused.

Kira scooted a little closer so she could whisper in his ear. “She’s beautiful, really. Exceptional. All those rich, thick, black curls, falling all the way to her tiny waist. It must feel so soft, brushing over her naked back like that. Such a luxury to have that kind of hair, to be able to grow it so long. Nothing like your wartime girlfriend’s hair-do, is it?”

Odo answered with a non-committal grunt.

“And that face, that perfect face. High cheekbones, smooth skin, almond-shaped eyes. Such a rare green, you don’t see that color every day. They almost glow. And those lips, that perfect, full mouth, smiling around those pearly-white teeth…Think those lips taste as good as they look?”

“I wouldn't know...”

Kira went on, biting her cheek. “What about her skin, Odo? All that perfect skin, so nice that we get to see so much of it in that dress. It fits that amazing body so well. And oh, would you look at that, on the front of her dress, Odo. Poor dear, she must be cold. Maybe you should go ask her if she'd like you to keep her warm."

“Maybe...”

Kira pinched her lips, stifling a laugh. “All that flawless skin, Odo. It shimmers, catches the light when she moves, have you noticed?”

“Yes, Nerys, I noticed."

“Or maybe it shimmers because of the scales. All those pretty, shiny scales, smooth and flat, glowing in the light, seeming to show up in exactly the right places, right where they need to be to draw the eye. Like a Trill’s spots…I wonder how far they go down…”

“Dunno,” Odo replied. He shifted his chin to his other hand, still staring at the bar.

Still smiling, Kira amped it up. “How would they feel to a Changeling, do you suppose, those scales, next to that smooth skin? How would it feel to run your substance over those?”

“Probably pretty damned wonderful,” Odo returned. He squirmed away from her a little, his scowl deepening.

Undaunted, Kira dragged Odo’s earlobe lightly through her teeth. She was rewarded by a slight tilt of his head and a ragged little gasp. “Odo my love,” she purred, “would you like me to leave the bar so you can get that woman’s hailing frequency?”

“Yes…No…Wait, what?”

Kira chuckled. "Odo, you’ve spent the last ten minutes staring at that woman. I was just wondering, would you like me to leave, so you can get to know her better?”

“Nerys! No! Of course not!” Odo heaved a breath. “That’s not why I’m looking at her.”

“Oh, really?” Kira returned, grinning. “You’re going to tell me that woman is not the most beautiful thing in this bar, and that’s not what caught your eye?”

“She’s lovely, Nerys, but again, that’s not why I’m looking at her.” Odo cupped her cheek, his expression softening. “Nerys, I’ve told you this before, but I’ll tell you again, as many times as you want to hear it. The Goddess of Rixx herself could rise naked out of the station’s water supply, but as far as I’m concerned, you would still be the most desirable woman in existence.”

“Then what,” Kira said, taking his hand in both of hers, “has got you so mesmerized?”

“Her dress,” Odo replied.

Kira raised a skeptical brow at him. “Her dress?”

“The fabric,” Odo said. “It's Risian satin, isn't it? Like that little black thing you used to have?”

Kira took another glance at the woman, and turned back to Odo, her expression puzzled. “I think so. But what does that have to do with anything?"

“Well...seeing her dress, the fabric, it reminded me that I never did replace what I damaged like I said I would. With the war on, I'm not likely to get a chance to do so anytime soon. I know Risian satin is expensive. I still feel horrible about it.”

Kira grinned from ear to ear. Damaged? The slip had been shredded, annihilated. The poor little scrap of satin had been in tatters when Kira found it by the side of her bed the next morning, completely ruined, beyond all hope of repair. Not that she’d complained about it.

Kira tossed her head back and laughed, and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Odo,” she said, “if it bothers you that much, I’ll send you a bill. But as far as I’m concerned, you have nothing to feel horrible about. I care about you a lot more than a piece of fabric."

Odo returned her embrace and nuzzled her neck. “Nerys, can we _please_ go home now?”

“I’d think we’d better, Constable, before everyone in Quark’s starts staring at us."

They rose together from the table. Kira took Odo's hand as they walked out of Quark’s. She leaned heavily on Odo’s arm, and said, “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you, Odo. I did order something new, from Orion this time. It’s silk. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes,” Odo replied. “Oh, yes I would.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Based on characters belonging to Paramount. The characters are theirs, the story is mine.


End file.
